


Shivers

by Starshaker



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Cold Weather, Fluff, Force Sensitivity, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Poe Dameron/Finn Fluff, Protective Finn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Stranded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 09:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7166261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starshaker/pseuds/Starshaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe and Finn are on a reconnaissance mission on a snow covered planet when they run into trouble with the first order. While they take cover they have to share warmth to stand any hope of surviving. As they try to keep each other alive they learn of each other's soul marks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shivers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AnnetheCatDetective](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnetheCatDetective/gifts).



Finn had spent most of his life between cool, air conditioned starships and the frozen tundras of the Starkiller base. He was used to the chill and he estimated it would be a good couple of hours before he started to feel any ill effects from it. When he looked across, Poe knelt beside him shivering.

Snow had been coming down around them for three hours already as they crouched on a ledge overlooking the door to a First Order bunker. Each of them had a foil blanket over their shoulders to insulate them against the cold and though both of them were sheltered by the boulder there was an inch of snow settled against each of them. Poe’s fingers were closed tightly around the fabric and Finn suspected Poe wouldn’t be able to move his fingers if they needed to reach for their weapons.

“Should we go back to the ship?” Finn suggested, “We can come back when we’re warmed up a bit,”

“You go if you want to,” Poe said. He kept his eyes on the door below.

“Poe,” Finn said as he nudged Poe’s arm, “ _You_ should go back to the ship,”

“What? No I’m good here,” Poe said and he shot Finn a strained smile.

“It’s okay. You look-,” Finn said and looked over at Poe pitifully. 

“Yeah, yeah you’re probably right. They’re not going to move anything in this storm anyway, huh?”

“Why don’t we leave a recording device, just in case anyone does come past,” Finn said as he pulled Poe’s rucksack from him.

“Yeah, yeah good plan,” Poe nodded.

“Talk me through how this works,” Finn said.

“Buddy you know how all this works. You can work this stuff better than I can,” Poe said witha strained laugh.

“Tell me anyway. You need to concentrate,” Finn in sisted

“Open three of the four flaps on the top and point it towards the focal point. Pull out the aerial and set it to...”

“Poe?”

“Shit, I can’t think straight,” Poe said and Finn saw him bite his bottom lip nervously.

“Lets get to cover, the ship or some caves or some hollow somewhere we can use,” Finn said as he flipped the switch to activate the device and pressed the button to reroute any recordings to their ship. The planet was barren and there was no risk of animal life interfering with the device. He pushed himself up to his feet and glanced to check his sense of direction against his holo-compass.

“Sorry, I, I guess i’m getting old,” Poe said sheepishly as he pushed himself up too and steadied himself against the rock behind them. 

 

From the moment they stepped out from the shelter of the rock face a cold piercing wind hit them. They battled against it for half a mile. Poe’s steps were considerably shorter that Finn’s. He turned back to Poe to offer him a hand when he caught a movement deep into the forest behind them.

“Get down,” Finn hissed and pulled Poe down behind the shelter of a tree and looked out over a snow drift. His eyes darted through the thick trees and between the dark bark and snows everything blurred into similar shapes. Finn felt a chill deeper than the cold twist in his gut as he caught sight of a Stormtrooper through the trees.

“ _Halt_!” The stormtrooper called out and Finn grabbed for Poe’s arm and yanked him back up again.

“Crap!” Finn yelled, “Run, run,”

“We need to split up,”

“What no,” 

“One of us can get back to the ship and our weapons,”

“They’ll kill you,”

“I’ll be fine,” Poe insisted as he pulled out of Finn’s grip,“Go!” Poe shoved Finn to one side and darted back in the other direction. His movement caught the attention of the trooper that was following them. 

Finn felt his stomach drop as he saw the two figures disappear in the other direction and something felt deeply wrong. Poe was in danger. He took off after them.

 

Poe could feel his every step slipping on the ice and snow beneath his feet but he managed to keep his balance and dodge the blaster fire as he dashed through the trees. There were half a dozen stormtroopers on his tail and he couldn’t tell whether he was leading them to his ship or away from it. Each time he hazarded a glance behind him he thought he caught sight of more troopers, or else he spooked himself enough to believe there were more in amongst the trees than there were. 

His toe caught a root hidden beneath the snow and before he could catch himself he skidded and hit hit back hard against a jagged rock. He saw the stormtrooper before the stormtrooper raised his weapon but there was nowhere Poe could run to. His back protested as he struggled to get his footing. The trooper didn’t hesitate. Poe saw the flash of light from the blaster and winced. No hit came. 

He opened his eyes and the energy blast hung in the air no more than a foot in front of him. The stormtrooper was watching him, seemingly frozen too.

Suddenly Finn appeared at his side, grabbed his arm and hauled him to his feet. 

“Is that you?” Por asked, his eyes trained on the static blaster shot hovering in the air.

“I really don’t want to think about it right now,” Finn said hurriedly as he pulled Poe through the forest and away from the trooper “Are you hurt?” He asked 

“My back. I skid and hit something,” Poe said.

“We’re not far from the ship. Think you can make it,”

“Yeah, of course,” Poe said. Finn shot him a nervous grin, “You’re terrified aren’t you,” Poe said.

“You said this was an easy mission. No confrontation,”

“I swear I didn’t know,”

“I know you didn’t,” Finn said quietly.

“Kriff,” Finn skid to a halt and his arm shot out against Poe’s chest, “They’ve found the ship,” Finn whispered and he urged Poe to step back.

“Where’s BB-8?” Poe asked though he moved as Finn ushered him back into the cover of the trees before they were seen.

“Didn’t see it,” Finn shook his head.

“Can we fight through?” Poe asked, his hand fell to his sidearm but he found the holster empty.

“I’m all out of ammunition, unless I could take one of theirs,” Finn glanced back as if he was considering the possibility.

“No!,” Poe said as he grabbed Finn’s arm to distract him from the idea. “Unless we can get one of them on their own. I uh, lost my blaster,”

“How does that _always_ happen?” Finn muttered as he rolled his eyes.

“Come on let’s find some shelter, they can’t move her. Just give it a few hours. In this weather they’ll think we’ve frozen to death,”

“You think we won’t?” Finn asked and he looked Poe up and down.

“Nah, trust me come on,” Poe waved him to follow but as he did his knee twisted beneath him. Finn steadied him with a hand at his back, “Thanks,”

 

“Wait, what’s that?” Finn asked and Poe froze and looked to where Finn was pointing. “Something moved in those bushes up ahead,”

“Stormtroopers don’t exactly do subtle,” Poe said, “No offense,”

“Then what is it?” Finn asked, his voice hushed.

“Just an animal,”

“There’re no animals out here,” Finn insisted.

 

They crept forwards, Finn kept his eyes on their six. The bushes rustled again and Poe crouched and then all of a sudden an orange and white blur shot across the path in front of him.

“BB-8!” Poe said with glee.

“You know droids aren’t subtle either,” Finn muttered. 

“Hey buddy, are you okay?” Poe asked as he crouched down to the unit as Finn scanned their surroundings. BB-8’s scattered beeps and chirps were hurried and distressed.

“I know, I know,” Poe shushed the droid, “Have you seen anywhere we can hide out for a bit? A cave or some sort of shelter? We can’t go back to the transport for a bit,” Poe said.

BB-8 chirped in the affirmative and Poe grabbed at Finn’s arm to get him to follow. They’d only gone a few hundred feet when Poe’s energy seemed to all disappear at once and his feet caught on every stone and root. His back was throbbing and his brain seemed to be imploding from the cold. Poe stumbled and Finn hooked an arm around Poe’s back to steady him. Poe leant in towards him, grateful of the support.

A couple of minutes later BB-8 had led them the the entrance of a cave a few metres up from the ground. Poe and Finn could climb up relatively easily but BB-8 struggled to get purchase on the wall. 

“Do you think you can stand guard BB?” Poe asked as he crouched down in the snow beside the dorid, “Keep out of sight and let us know if anything’s headed our way” Poe said. BB-8 whined. “I could get you up there but if we have to move out quickly you could get damaged. You’ll be okay out here, we just need a couple of hours,” BB-8 rolled out into the thicker forest and Poe pulled himself up the rock face. Finn was knelt at the entrance to the cave and held down a hand to help him up. Finn pulled him into the shelter of the the rocky opening and Poe was grateful to see the cave stretched back a few metres out of reach of the weather.

 

“You were awesome out there buddy,” He said as he pat Finn’s shoulder and ducked inside the cave entrance.

“Thanks,” Finn said and nodded once, he was clearly scared but they were alive. Poe reached out a hand to Finn’s arm. A small reassurance. “You’re frozen,” Finn said.

“It is snowing,” Poe said with a shrug, “I’ll survive,” Poe lowered himself down against the stone wall. His back twinged and he cursed under his breath. He shut his eyes and leant his head back against the wall. A small moment of relief. If he could get away with it he’d sleep for two days or more once they got back to the base..

“Hey, try to stay awake okay,” He told Poe as he pulled his hat from Poe’s head and wrung it out in his hands.

“I’m just tired. I’ll be fine,” Poe said. He kept his eyes on Finn’s as Finn pulled the hat back over Poe’s hair. If his ears weren’t red from the cold they’d be red from Finn’s attention.

“We can’t start a fire or we’ll be seen, but we need to keep warm,” Finn said as he lowered himself beside Poe and slid his arm over Poe’s shoulders to pull him in.

“Smooth moves buddy,” Poe muttered.

“No,- I. It’s survival skills,” Finn said as his arm settled awkwardly around Poe.“I’m not trying to put the moves on you,”

“Just a joke buddy. Not that I’d mind if you did,” Poe said, “Well I’m not saying I want you to, that is if you don’t want to but-,”

“We need to change the subject,” Finn said.

“Yes, new subject. Definitely,” Poe said

“What about?” Poe asked, his eyes were slightly dazed and he moved lethargically.

“Tell me about you. How do you survive when you’re off on these missions on your own?”

“I do alright on my own,” Poe said and his laugh broke into a chesty cough, “Just trying to show off in front of you,”

“Don’t worry Dameron, you’ve impressed me,” Finn said as he shook his head and pulled .

“Huh, good. Next time tell me before I can’t feel my fingers,” Poe muttered, “How are you so warm?” Poe asked.

“You should probably take your jacket off, It’s soaked through,” Finn said.

“Won’t I need the extra layers?”Poe asked. He was cold enough already. His jacket was cold and heavy around him.

“Not when you’re soaked through. I’m in charge when you’re almost frozen to death okay,” Finn said as Poe raised his shaky hands to the jacket's ties. His fingers brushed the zipper and buttons without the necessary dexterity to undo them.

“Can you uh, help me?” Poe asked

“Sure,”

The zipper was jammed from the cold so Finn pulled at the soaked jacket so that it could come up over Poe’s head. Poe groaned and as the jacket slipped free Poe’s t-shirt caught and pulled up from his trousers. Finn’s eyes were drawn to a distinct crescent of moles just above Poe’s hip.

“What’s this?” Finn asked. 

“What?” Poe asked and he rubbed his hands over his long sleeves to generate some warmth.

“This mark. It’s not a tattoo,” Finn said, his fingers hovered over Poe’s mark.

“Oh uh, mum always said it was my soulmark, not everyone has one. If it’s true, my soulmate will have one the same,”

“I’ve got this,” Finn said quietly. Poe gasped.

“You…” Poe said and a smile began to spread on his face.

“Yeah, right here,” He tapped the same place on his own side

.

“Can I see?” Poe asked

“It’s freezing,” Finn said and pouted.

“Right, yeah,” Poe said. He ducked his head and nodded, “Okay,”

“What do soulmates mean anyway?” Finn asked as he dropped the jacket to one side, “I thought they were just a myth or a children’s story,”

“Oh uh, they are. Universe is all about balance and so are soulmates. Someone who’s important, a part of you, a part of your life,” Poe explained, “I know all the stories tell of love but,” Poe shrugged, “I guess we’ll find out,” Poe said. He his bottom lip as his eyes darted to Finn’s mouth.

Finn cupped Poe’s hands in his own and rubbed them to try and help his circulation. He tried to remember anything he’d ever learnt about surviving in extreme cold. As a stormtrooper his suit would have protected him from most of the elements but he remembered several simulations in exposed conditions. They’d lose the most amount of heat through their heads, but if their chests got too cold they’d struggle to breathe and their heart could slow down too much. He pulled Poe in close beside him and the blankets tight around them.

“Just like that?” Finn asked after a few minutes, “Matching marks and you just- you’re okay with it,”

“Can’t see much wrong with it, you’ve saved my life before, you’re saving my life again aren’t you? If I need anyone with me...” Poe said and Finn felt Poe’s head fall heavily on his shoulder. Finn didn’t reply. “You want to talk about it when we’re back home?”

“Home, uh yeah,” Finn nodded but he didn’t meet Poe’s gaze.

“Not still thinking of leaving are you?” Poe asked. He looked at Finn and the movement made him shiver.

“Of course not, no,” Finn said quickly, but then guilt over took his brain to mouth filter, “ Well not thinking about it but maybe a passing thought. Now and then,” Finn said. “Just not used to what home feels like.” Finn sighed “Never known how to fit in properly,”

“You fit,” Poe said firmly.

“Thanks,” Finn said with a smile grateful smile. 

“Tell me about the force,” Poe said after another shiver wracked through him and he leant more of his weight into Finn’s side.

“I hate the force,” Finn muttered and when Poe looked up he caught the tail end of Finn’s grimace..

“As much as you hate Jakku?” Poe asked.

“I don’t hate anything as much as Jakku,” Finn said and Poe started to laugh which soon turned into a cough as the cold air caught the back of his throat.

“Why don’t you like the force?” Poe asked as the tightness in his chest subsided..

“It’s like static. Like when you notice a person’s odd little habits or a quiet but repetitive noise. Once you notice it you can’t _not_ notice it,”

“Can you use it?” Poe asked, “Well of course you can, you stopped that blaster. That was amazing,”

“I panicked, I don’t know how I did it,” Finn said, “I uh, can hear people’s projected thoughts too sometimes,”

“So you can read minds?” Poe said tentatively. He shivered and he desperately hoped that Finn thought it was from the cold and not a memory that came back to torture him regularly.

“I need to talk to the General about it,” Finn said quietly, “What if i’m not safe?”

“You’ll be fine. Lots of people can feel the force,” Poe said.

“Name five that don’t include Luke, Leia, or Rey,” Finn said as he looked at Poe with a raised brow.

“Alive or dead?” Poe asked.

“Alive,” Finn said determinedly.

“There’s that cadet, Jasmine or Jenny or something,” Poe suggested.

“Do you think she could teach me how to meditate?” Finn asked with half a shrug.

“Yeah, I’m sure she would,” Poe said as he knocked shoulders with Finn gently “Everyone wants to be your friend Finn. Haven’t you noticed?”

“It’s weird. I feel like I’m on display again,” Finn said, his eyes trained to a spot somewhere around their knees.

“Again?” Poe asked.

“Captain Phasma used me as the shining example for the success of the training programme,” Finn said and then he glanced up to Poe’s face, “I told you I was good,”

“Well if you were even half as good a jedi as you were a stormtrooper then you’ll have this Force stuff down easily,” 

“You think?” Finn said skeptically.

“Yeah of course,” Poe shivered and rubbed his hands together to try and generate some more warmth. His fingers were stiff and he struggled to bend them.

“Can I…?” Finn asked as he reached for Poe’s hands. Poe let him take them and Finn’s hands felt like a furnace. “What if... what if I go dark?”

“You won’t,” Poe said, “ Trust me you won’t,”

“I could hurt people,” finn said quietly, “Innocent people,”

“You could _now_ , but you don’t,” Poe said and then an errant thought crossed his mind, “Can you ever hear my thoughts?”

“Sometimes,” Finn said quietly, “I’m around you a lot and...I don’t try to, I promise.”

“Yeah, I figured it’d be pretty easy with me,” Poe said and found for the moment that he couldn’t look at Finn. 

“Kylo Ren was a really powerful force user with years of practice torturing people’s innermost secrets out of them. I can only hear what you want me to, or I suppose what you might want me to. Sorry. But you are just open with me. When you talk to other people I can’t hear you, or when you’re focussed on something else. But when you talk to me sometimes you project,”

“I just do it with you?” Poe asked.

“When you get excited about something, I’ve heard a few things when you’ve been talking to Jess and Snap. Once I had this song in my head for about an hour that I didn’t recognise. I was sat next to you while you were fixing your x-wing,” Finn said, “I only realised it was you when you started humming it out loud,” 

“Oh,” Poe said quietly.

“It’s not a bad thing,”

“I still feel him in my head sometimes,” Poe admitted quietly, “Like my thoughts aren’t my own anymore,”

“Poe, I-” Finn started but was interrupted by a huge noise the shook the wall behind them and the cave floor beneath their feet.

A whirring echoed around them and when Finn looked up to see the back end of a transporter filled the entrance of the cave. The ramp touched down as the transporter hovered precariously in mid air. The second doors opened and BB-8 spun out in a whir of movement.

“BB-8!” Finn cried out and jostled Poe beside him.

“Hey buddy,” Poe muttered as his eyes seemed more inclined to fall shut. BB-8 beeped and sang as it leant around Poe and looked at Finn, “What do you mean backup?” Poe asked and BB-8 beeped quickly, “Never had that before,”

“Think you can stand?” Finn asked.

“Yeah,” Poe nodded and both of them pushed themselves to their feet. Poe struggled and as he tried to stand his knees crumpled beneath him, “Would you believe I’m actually feeling better?”

“You’re a disaster, Dameron,” They both looked up to see Jess hanging out of a low hovering transport, “Are you coming? We’ll have company in about thirty seconds,” She called to them.

“Yeah yeah,” Poe muttered and Finn took most of his weight to pull him up the ramp into the transport, “Hey Testor! I’m _his_ disaster,” He pointed to Finn, his finger prodding to the side of Finn’s stomach. “He’s got my soulmark,”

“Unlucky Finn,” Jess said with an amused and relieved smile on her face, “Stuck with him for good now,”

“Could be worse,” Finn shrugged and laughed along with Jess as she poked fun at them both.

A wave of heat surrounded them as Jess pulled them on board and Finn felt his stomach roll as the doors closed behind them. At his side Poe became a deadweight.

“You okay Finn? Jess asked as she pat a hand on his arm before ducking around the Poe’s other side and taking his weight. 

“I think so,” Finn nodded, he was tired but Poe was the one who needed medical attention. Finn helped her get Poe lying down on a low seat and Jess swaddled him in warmers.

“Go on up to the front,” Jess said and nodded towards the cockpit, “Rey’s waiting,”

“Rey’s back?” Finn asked and his feet were already taking him towards the cockpit before he realised that left Jess tending to Poe. He turned and looked back.

“He’ll be fine. It’s not the first time our Resistance princess has fainted,” Jess said. Finn could feel the edge of her concern bristling but she was assured enough that Poe would be fine.

“Thanks,” Finn nodded

The moment he stepped into the cockpit the whole transport craned to one side.

“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how to fly,” He said.

“Finn!” Rey shouted and grinned as she glanced round to him, “And I wasn’t the one to run into trouble in the middle of a First Order training base,”

“We were on Re-con,” He said as he braced himself against the console and fell back into the co-pilot seat and fastened himself down. “I thought you weren’t back for another month,”

“I heard you were in trouble,” Rey answered with a grin.

“From who?” Finn asked and frowned.

“You,” She looked back at him briefly and incredulously.

“What?” He asked. Rey tapped her temple and then made the jump to hyperspace and turned back to him. The transport flew steadily and Rey unclipped herself from the pilot's seat and threw herself across to hug Finn tightly. He shivered against her warmth and hugged her back tightly. 

“Leia must be better at teaching you than Luke is with me,” Rey said as she pulled away.

“I didn’t call you intentionally,” Finn admitted, “I’ve no idea what I’m doing,”

“That’s still really good,” Rey said, her eyes lit up with excitement. The ship rumbled around them and Rey looked to panic for a moment and leant back over the console to flip a switch on. The rattling immediately stopped.

“Hey, have you ever heard of soulmates?” Finn asked.

“You have a soulmate too?” Rey asked. “Who?”

“Poe,” Finn said and nodded to the back.

“Oh, I don’t really know him, but he seems good,” Rey said, “Leia trusts him,”

“I trust him,” Finn said.

“Then what’s the problem,” Rey asked. Finn shrugged. “You scared,”

“Yes,”

“And,” Rey asked, 

“What if I don’t know how to love him properly?”

“Sounds like you already do,” Jess said from the doorway. “Poe’ll be out until we land,”

“Oh yeah, we’ll be there in no time,” Rey said with a grin, “I can’t stay long. Technically this wasn’t authorised,”

“Then how come you’ve got Jess with you,” Finn asked and he saw the pair share a guilty look.

“I knew you were in trouble, I didn’t know where you were,” Rey said.

“I’ll be down for a reprimand when we get back but I don’t think it’ll be too bad,” Jess shrugged. “This has been fun,”

 

Poe was rushed off to medical as soon as the doors opened whilst a med tech checked Finn over on the transport and declared him only in need of a few days rest. Jess ducked her head and disappeared into the crowd and as the airfield cleared Rey piloted the transport up out of the atmosphere again. Finn watched the craft become a tiny dot in the sky and vanish amongst the clouds. 

“Finn,” Finn turned to see Leia stood patiently behind him. 

“Do I take it the mission was unsuccessful?” She said with a knowing look.

“There was activity on the planet but we weren’t able to find out what it was. Weather conditions were unfavourable and we encountered several stormtroopers. Were forced to leave our transport and several tech devices on the planet when we took shelter,”

“I understand,” Leia nodded, “May I ask how you contacted Rey and Miss Pava,”

“Rey says she heard me, uh through the force,” Finn explained, “I don’t know what I did,”

“When you decide you want to practice using the force, I’ll make time,” Leia said, “Now get some rest I believe were the doctor’s orders, am I right?”

“Yes ma’am,” Finn nodded sharply.

 

Finn sat in Poe’s quarters as he read all the holos he could find on soulmates. Most were romantic fiction rather than evidential but he managed to dig out a few historical accounts from across the galaxy. 

Great Kings and Queens were often reputed to have powerful soulmates in each other. That their connection was instant and an unstoppable force, a love to rival any other feeling in the galaxy. When Finn had first met Poe he was terrified, no instant love. There was no spark at their touch or pull that brought them crashing together. Finn had felt the Force stir around them, but it assured him when Poe was nearby, as opposed to the holos that said the two of them wouldn’t be able to bear being apart.

 

Finn’s eyes shot up at the door slid open with a hushed whoosh and Poe stepped inside. He was bundled in a think woolen jumper

“Hey, how’re you doing?”

“Good,” Finn nodded as he set the datapad down to one side.

“I thought we should probably talk about y’know, our marks,”

“What? Oh right yeah you wanted to see mine didn’t you,” Finn started to pull at his shirt but Poe’s hand shot out and stopped him.

 

“I do,”Poe said “Seeing it on you would be, quite frankly, amazing,” Poe said as he followed the direction of his hand and moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside Finn, “But thinking back to that conversation we had in the cave, you didn’t seem entirely on board with the idea,”

“No no i’m on board. Totally on board. It’s- It’s good,” Finn said as he nodded with a determined enthusiastically. Poe ducked and shook his head.

“Finn,” Poe said with a sigh and when he looked up Finn felt nerves overtake him.

“I still have no idea what soulmates means,” Finn admitted.

“S’ok buddy, I said before, we’ll figure it out as we go,”

“Thanks,”

“Can I see it? Your mark,” Poe asked.

“Yeah, yeah sure,” Finn said as he nodded. Poe reached out slowly and lifted the shirt from where Finn had pulled it from his trousers. As his eyes fell on Finn’s mark Poe gasped. The feather light touch of his fingers on the skin of Finn’s side felt like the cool tingle of bacta gel. Finn tensed and Poe glanced up at him. 

“Are you okay?” Poe asked.

Finn nodded. His mind was a blank as he slowly reached up his hand towards Poe’s side. His fingers slipped beneath Poe’s top and without lifting it to see, Finn knew when his hand covered the mark. Poe’s eyes fluttered shut and he hummed low.

“What do you feel?” Finn asked as a smile pulled at Poe’s lips. He looked so serene and content from a single touch.

“You’re warm, and I can feel you, like you’re supposed to be here, a part of me,”

“I don’t feel that,” Finn said and pulled his hand away.

“Maybe we just feel different things,” Poe said and leant back in towards Finn’s hand. “What does it feel like to you?”

“Just cool. Like when someone presses ice to you and your body heat is just starting to melt it,”

“Can I tell you a secret?”Poe said, his voice hushed despite there only being the two of them in the room.

“Sure,” Finn nodded.

“I’m not supposed to be out of medical yet,” Poe said and grinned.

“Poe!”

“I’m fine. I’m not going to die now. Besides I was bored and you weren’t there. I didn’t know if you were okay,”

“If I get in trouble…”

“You won’t. Look all they told me was that I’d need bedrest,” Poe said, “And I was hoping I could get it here, without the incessant beep of those med-droids,”

“Let me get the spare blanket,”

“ I’ll be fine. You’ll be warm enough and I can feel my fingers and toes now,”

“You nearly froze to death,”

“Nearly,” Poe shrugged as Finn threw the blanket at him, “Didn’t actually happen,”

“Jess warned me about you,” Finn said as he pulled at the covers, “When I woke up months ago and my back was in shread and Rey was a million planets away. Jess was sat at the end of my bed and she told me that you were always betting against the odds,”

“I bet on you waking up,” Poe said.

“I know,”

“What can I say? I’m a lucky guy,”

“One day your luck’ll run out,” Finn said half-jokingly, “Then what’re you going to do?”

“Dunno,” Poe muttered as he shuffled over to one side of the bed, “I’ll figure it out,” Poe said and winced as he stretched out. Finn slid under the covers and Poe reached and arm out around him, his hand rested just over Finn’s soulmark. “This alright?”

“It’s fine,” Finn nodded.

“You can touch me as well you know,” Poe said and he leant his head down against Finn’s shoulder. Finn twisted to face him and circled his arms around Poe’s waist and held him as tightly as he could.

“Woah buddy,” Poe gasped

“Sorry,” Finn muttered. He loosened his grip but didn’t remove his arms and Poe shuffled closer.

“No, that’s good. Would be great if I could still breathe,” Poe said. It wasn’t a particularly easy position to sleep in and Poe was still a cold block beside him, from his nose against Finn’s cheek to his toes against Finn’s calves.

His hand traced down to Poe’s mark and circled it lightly. As Finn began to fall asleep a warmth began to spread up from his side and by the time he drifted off he felt lighter, happier. He felt like he was home.


End file.
